Reverberation Chamber Metrology for Wireless Internet of Things Devices: Flexibility in Form Factor, Rigor in Test

Abstract

Internet of things (IoT) devices are proliferating in our connected world, with the number of devices expected to exceed 14 billion in 2023 <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[1]</xref> . Wireless IoT applications are increasing day by day, ranging from cellular-enabled parking meters that can validate your credit card in real time, to trash compactors that inform the garbage company when they are full, to wireless local-area-network–enabled industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that control robots on the factory floor with micron precision. The physical size and shape or <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">form factor</i> of these devices can range from millimeters to meters on a side, and latency requirements can range from hours (e.g., trash compactor) to seconds (e.g., parking meter) to milliseconds or less (e.g., factory floor sensing and control). With all of the possible variations, it is important to have flexible yet accurate test facilities for these devices.